Building construction.



C. T. IVIcFARLANDIA BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.- APPucATloN man nem. 191,3.

Patented Jan. 22, 1918 CLRENCE T. MCFARLAND, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.

Application led December 8, 1913.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that 1, CLARENCE T. MCFAR- LAND, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in Boston, county of Suolk, and State of Massachusetts,have invented an 1mprovement in Building Constructions, of Which thefollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like characters on the drawings representing likeparts.

This invention relates to a composite building construction and moreparticularly to the floors and ceilings of the same.

The inventionis adapted to be embodied in buildings having brick andlike outside Walls, and is particularly adapted to be embodied inbuildings having Wooden frames.

The invention has for its object to provide a superior floorconstruction With which a Wooden, brick or like building may be providedWith a light Weight metal floor, which is continuous from Wall to Wall,and serves as a lire stop and also to render the building rat and verminproof, as Will be described.

lThe improved floor construction also enables a material saving in theheight and cost of the building to be effected Without sacrificing headroom between the different floors, as Will be described.

These and Other features of this invention will be pointed out in theclaims at the end of this specification.

Figure l represents a sutlicient portion of a building embodying thisinvention to enable it to be understood.

Fig. 2, a section of the building shown in Fig. l taken on the line 2 2.

,'Fig. 3, a section 0n the line 3-3 Fig. 1.

F ig. 4, a perspective of the floor plates shown in Fig. 2 inverted.

Fig. 5, an enlarged detail to be referred to, and f Fig. 6, a detail ofa reinforcement to be referred to.

In the present instance, 1 have shown the invention as embodied in abuilding having one side Wall a of brick or like material, and theopposite side Wall o of Wood, With an intermediate partition cap csupported upon post (Z.

1n accordance With this invention, the

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 22, 1.191%.

serial No. 805,382.

outside Walls e, b and the partition cap o, support a sheet metal floorstructure preferably of the construction herein shown, and comprising aplurality of sheet metal beams c, and connecting plate members j". Thesheet metal beams c may and preferably will be made of the cross sectionherein shown, see Fig. and consisting of side Walls and a connectingWall. The side Walls are composed, as herein shown, of convergingmembers or sections 10, and diverging members or sections 12, whichextend from the converging members l0, and from which extend the floormembers the converging memberslO being connected by the wall let, whichforms a substantially Wide bearing for the beam. 1t is preferred to makethe members 10 of the side walls materially longer or larger than themembers 12.

A plurality' of the hollow sheet metal beams c may be rolled, pressed upor otherwise formed from a fiat metal sheet, with floor members 7Iconnecting the side Walls of adjacent beams. In the present instance thefloor is made up of tivo halves or members each comprising three metalsheets. one of which is provided with four metal beams and each of theother tivo with three metal beams. A floor of sheet metal is thusformed, which comprises a plurality of sheet metal beams and one or morecon-- necting plates and adjacent licor sheets may have their adjacentfloor members secured together, which may be effected in any suitablemanner but preferably by providing said floor members with bent flangesor lips 17, Whichl are capable of being interlocked with unskilled laboron the job after the manner shoivn in Figs. 2 and 5, so as to make acontinuous floor sheet extended in one direction of the building, as forinstance in the direction of the length thereof from one end Wall 9,0 tothe other end Wall 21, see Fig. 2.

The floor sheets may be arranged as herein shovvn, so that the beams ofthe said sheets extend transversely of the building, as representedrinFigs, 1 and 3, and in the present instance tivo floor sheets areemployed to cover the space between the walls a, b, and each floor sheethas one end of its beams resting on one of the side Walls a, o,

and its other end on the partition cap c, and the beams of one of theHoor sheets are contracted so as to dovetail into the beams of the otherfloor sheet supported by the partition cap, as clearly shown in Fig. l.In this manner the building is provided with a practically continuoussheet metal floor eX- tended from one side wall as a to the vother sidewall 5 of the building and from one end wall 20, to the other end wall2l and is supported by saidside and end walls. The floor members f ofthe Hoor sheetsmay be provided with upturned lips 2st, which serve asanchoring devices to secure the floor sheets to the side and end wallsof the building, see Figs. l, 2 and 3.

The sheet metal iioor may be reinforced by bridging members, which maybe of Wood but are preferably of sheet metal and made as herein shown7each consisting' of a vertical web 30 having top and bottom flanges 31,32 and end iianges 33, the ends of said sheet metal bridging membersbeing shaped to conform to the shape of the sides l0, l2 of the beams,so that the bridging members can be slipped between and be supported bythe adjacent sides of two beams, as represented in Figs. l and fl.

The flanges 33 of the bridging members afford a sufliciently broadbearing surf'ace for the bridging members to be maintained inv anupright position without otherwise fastening them to the sheet metalbeams.

The sheet metal floor is shown in Fig. l in its normal position, and inFig. Llin an inverted position, to enable the construction to be clearlyshown and understood.

The hollow sheet metal beams may and preferably will have' extended intothem, so as to rest upon the diverging members l2 of the side walls ofsaid beams, filler strips or pieces 37 of wood, or other suitablematerial, which project above the beams and form supports for the floorboa-rds 38,V to which the latter may be nailed or otherwise secured.

The metal beams e may have secured to them wire lathing 39, which may befastened by tie wires 40, which are passed through holes 4l in the sidewalls of the beams near the lower edges of the same.

A layer 42 of plaster may be applied to the wire lathing 39 in the usualmanner. If desired the side walls 10, 12 of the sheet metal beams may bereinforced by sheet metal shoes lle, see Fig. 6, which are shaped toconform to the shape of the larger portion of the beam, so that the saidshoes can be slipped intoor over the beams as desired and fastened inany suitable manner as for instance by spot welding or riveting.

The wooden strips or nailers 37, may be nailed or otherwise secured infixed relation to the beams, andthey may be `Hush with or project abovethe beams. The sheet metal Vfrom one another -bers of a greater wi beamsmay be of less depth than that redrawing, vit will be seen'that thesheet metal floorV runs from wall to wall and over artition ca s therebyeliminating thenecessity for the usual fire stopping', and making thebuilding practically ratV and vermin proof, and further serves to stopthe travelof fire and smoke from one floor to another'.

Where plumbing and heating pipes are run through the floors, suitableholes may be eut in the floor members j, and if the holes aresufficiently large to weaken the said members, the latter can beVstrengthened around the holes in any suitable manner. The sheet metalHoor construction is especially adapted for use in buildings havingVwooden floors, but it is also capable of-being used in buildings havingconcrete iioors, in which case, the nailer strips 37 are omitted, andthe hollow beams' areV filled with concrete or the like, and the floormembers f serve as forms to support the concrete, thereby avoidingitheuse of temporary forms. lV hen used in a building havinga concretefloor, the licor members f'may be slit or expanded to better engage theconcrete. In practice, the sheet metal beams are made of sufficientdepth to sustain a given load on substantially long span, and areseparated byV substantial spaces. For ordinary spans, which range from 8to 20 feet, a beam of a depth of from t to 16 inches is preferred and aseparationV of from l0 to 16V inches on centers. Y

Claims zl l. In a building construction, in combination, a sheet metalfloor plate comprising a plurality of beams and intermediate platemembers of greater width than said beams, the latter having Vconvergingside wall members forming the lower part of the beam and shorterdiverging members forming .the upper part of the beam and separated attheir widest part a distance which is less than the width of the lowerpart of the beam at its greatest width, said intermediate plate membersbeing wider than the `depth'and widt-h of the beam. i

2. In a building construction, in combination, a sheet metal floorcomprising a plurality of sheet metal beams having adjacent side wallsseparated'fromeach other and integral with intermediate pla-te me-nr dththan said beams,

lnailer strips interposed between and sup*- ported by the side walls ofsaid beams, and

a iooring secured to said nailer strips.

3. In a building construction, in c0mbination, a sheet metal floor platecomprising aaafaaae a plurality of beams integral with inten name tothis speceaton in `he presence mediate plate members of greater Width oftwo subscribing Witnesses.

than Jche depth of said beams 'the latter i. having converging side Wallmembers and CLARENCE T' MCFARLAND' shorter dvergng members, and a nalerVtnesses: strip supported by the dvergng members. JAS. H. CHURCHILL,

In testimony whereof, I have signed my J. MURPHY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of atents,

Washington, D. C.

